BulletproofAngel
by Narwhale
Summary: From humble beginnings come great things. A series of one shots detailing Cloud's childhood and the woman, who we know so little about, who raised him.
1. Chapter 1

The blonde child slowly opened the front door, scanning the room to check for any signs of movement. The living room was dimly lit with faint lights glowing from the lamps that hung on the walls, the small flames flickering in the fire place, making the shadows in the room dance vibrantly among the still furniture and home decorations as evening settled in. After making sure the coast was clear, he walked inside, quietly shutting the front door as he trekked silently through the front room, hoping to slip into his bedroom unnoticed.

"Cloud Strife!" He sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes at the mention of his name. He knew better than trying to slip past by her.

"Hi mom," he mumbled.

"Where have you been, young man!?" the voice scolded.

A tall woman stomped into the room. She had the same hair color and almost the same hair style as Cloud did, wearing a white apron and a slim orange dress. She glared at him with blue eyes, the same as his, her hands on her hips. Clearly, she was angry.

"Do you even realize how late it is?" the woman scolded him. "You were supposed to be back an hour ago!"

Cloud remained silent. He kept his eyes on the floor, not wanting to look at her.

"Do you have ears?" she continued. "Can you hear me? I asked you where have you been!"

"Nowhere!" Cloud shouted, finally looking at her.

"Then why did you come back so late?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," Cloud grumbled.

"It does matter, young man," she said. "I told you to be back by 7 PM, and its past 8 already. Why do you keep coming back so late? And what's with this new selfish attitude of yours?"

Cloud spit in disgust, turning his head away and unintentionally revealing his cheek to her. She then gasped slightly as she saw the side of his face. She sighed, calming her voice and changing her tone.

"You got into another fight, didn't you?" she asked sympathetically.

Cloud realized his mistake as he tried to cover his cheeks, but she had already saw the wound on his face and his dirty clothes. She wondered why she didn't see it before he had walked in.

"Come on." She took Cloud by the hand and walked him to the bathroom. She sat Cloud on the toilet stall and pulled out a cotton ball, dipping it with rubbing alcohol.

"This will sting a little," she told him.

She carefully rubbed the wet cotton ball on his wound. Cloud winced at the first at the slight sting of the alcohol, but felt nothing afterwards except for the cold wetness on his cheek. All the while, he continued to avoid looking at his mother.

"Where else?" she asked Cloud. He remained silent.

"Where _else_?" she asked again, but more forcefully.

Cloud lifted his hands, revealing the blood on his knuckles. She dabbed more alcohol on the ball and cleaned the wounds on his hands. Afterwards, she pulled out a small pink bottle of ointment and applied it to Cloud's wounds.

"You need to stop this, Cloud," she told him gently. "This is the third time already, but you look worse than before."

"I can't help it," Cloud explained. "That kid across the street-."

"Cloud, hun!" she interrupted him. "I told you to avoid him if he keeps picking on you."

"I know that," Cloud defended. "But he started it, kept calling me Chocobo head and-."

"I don't care if he started it or not," she interrupted, "Fighting with him or anybody is bad. Cloud, this is getting out of hands. I don't know why you keep getting into trouble with all these kids."

"It's because they're immature and stupid."

"And that gives you a reason to pick fights with them?"

Cloud didn't answer as he watched his mom wrap the bandages around his hands.

"Cloud, just because they call you names and pick on you doesn't mean that you have to hit them to the point your knuckles bleed out," she said. "You were so nice and quiet. What's gotten into you?"

Cloud remained silent. He didn't dare look at her even as she leaned closer to his face to cover his cheek wound with a band aid. He knew why he kept fighting with the kids, why he had given his mother so much grief in the past few days. Ever since the accident at Mt. Nibel with Tifa Lockhart, he kept blaming himself for not being strong enough to protect her. The other villagers and the children blamed him as well, and as a result, he grew angry and fought with the other kids because he saw all of them as immature. He told himself that he was better than the rest of them, but deep down, he knew he was only trying to hide his own weakness.

"There," his mother said as she finished bandaging his wound. "Now, I don't want to see you fight another kid and having to patch you up again, okay?"

Cloud nodded, but kept silent as he stood up to walk out of the bathroom, but his mother stopped him.

"Cloud, hun, I'm serious," she continued. "Ever since Tifa's accident, you've been acting this way, and its gotten worse."

She picked at his spiky hair, brushing off the dirt that she had missed before.

"You never told me what happened that day- you didn't you tell anyone at all, for that matter, but I know that whatever happened, it wasn't your fault."

Cloud didn't say a word as he kept his head down, clenching his fists and avoiding her look.

"Cloud, you know that no matter what happens, no matter what you do, I'm still your mother. And that means that I'll be there for you no matter what. So don't get into any more fights with the other kids, okay? I know it must be hard to make friends with them, especially if they keep blaming you for what happened to that Tifa girl. But you know what the secret is to overcoming hate?"

Cloud raised his head and gave her a curious look.

"What's that?"

She smiled at him, gently putting her hand over the band aid on his cheek. He flustered slightly at her touch.

"It's love. When you learn to love, you have a long heart, a big heart, and with love, you learn to deal with the hate of this world. If you must fight, dear, fight hate with love."

Cloud gave her a confused look. "I don't get it."

"I know you don't, but someday when you're older, you will. And I know that you'll grow up into a strong, handsome man who will be full of love." She pecked him on his forehead before walking out, leaving Cloud to ponder on his mother's words.

"Love, huh?" Cloud asked himself.


	2. Chapter 2

"Cloud, dinner!" she called out to him from the kitchen, stirring a pot in front of the stove. "I made stew! It's your favorite!"

The young blonde child ran into the kitchen, leaping into the closest seat around the table.

"My, someone is hungry!" she laughed.

"You make the best stew, mom," Cloud grinned as he grabbed the spoon and bowl around the table.

"I know I do," she chuckled, joking at her ego. She then saw the band aid on his cheek and the bonds wrapped around both his hands from the night before.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

Cloud gave her a curious look, a look as if nothing had ever happened. "Huh? I feel fine. Why?"

"Your wounds don't hurt?" she asked again.

"No, it feels okay," Cloud said.

But she continued to stare at Cloud, her mind filled with emotions. Cloud simply shrugged.

"Mom, really, I'm okay. It doesn't hurt anymore."

But she knew it wasn't his wounds that bothered her. She grew concerned for Cloud and how he was at the moment, always getting into fights and always angry. He seemed normal to her now, but she couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Okay," she said, resuming her smile.

She lifted the pot over to the table and carefully served Cloud her specialty stew.

"Here you are," she said to him. "And don't forget to give thanks to Minerva."

" _Mom_ ," Cloud groaned at the mention of her 'ritual'.

"Hun, I told you that it's not just me you should thank for the food and for our house. I've told you that everything is the way it is because of the Planet. You, me, and everyone else is here because we had been given life by it."

"That sounds so stupid," Cloud complained. "Can't we just eat?"

"It's not stupid," she explained. "It's the truth."

"How do you know that?" Cloud asked.

"Well, we're here right now, aren't we? There's no way we would be here in our home eating my stew by accident, right? And I wouldn't be able to tickle you like this, right?"

She poked into his small figure and tickled his sides, making Cloud howl with laughter until he submitted.

"Okay! I give up!" Cloud cried.

She smiled warmly at him as she sat across from him. "Now, close your eyes and let's give thanks."

Cloud groaned but she ignored him as she closed her eyes to give thanks. But before she could, there was a knock on the front door.

"Who could that be?" she asked. "Stay here, Cloud."

Cloud watched her leave the kitchen. He couldn't see, but he heard her open the front door and could hear the conversation from the other room.

"Mr. Rosch," he heard his mother's voice. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Hello, Miss Strife," he heard a man's voice. He knew all too well why that man would come. "May I have a word?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"You know what happened between him and my son last night, right?"

"I'm aware of that, sir, and I have disciplined Cloud appropriately for his actions. I'm sorry for what happened, but your son should know better than to pick on him."

"Miss Strife, that son of yours is nothing but trouble. He's the one that got Mr. Lockhart's daughter into that accident."

Cloud could hear his mother's raised voice. "I don't care what he did! You and everyone else in town keep blaming my son for something he didn't do!"

"You know damn well it was his fault! You need to learn to better control that brat! You're just as much trouble as that son of yours!"

"How dare you say that about me and Cloud! Get out of my house!"

"You're both to blame for all this mess, Miss Strife! If he starts another-"

" _Out_!"

The door slammed shut. Cloud gritted his teeth as he held his tears back. He could feel the anger swell inside of him, feel the hatred of the other villagers. He stood up and was about to leave but his mother appeared into the kitchen, wiping her eyes.

"Cloud, where are you going?" she asked him.

"Anywhere but here!" Cloud yelled, finally letting the tears out. "No one wants me here anyway!"

"Sit back down, Cloud," she told him. "We still have dinner to eat."

"I don't wanna eat!" he shouted. "I wanna leave! I hate this place! I hate everyone!"

He ran past her and upstairs to his room, slamming the door shut. Cloud buried his head into his pillow and sobbed quietly. But as he laid down, he could hear her downstairs, crying. It was the first time he had ever heard her cry. He felt angry at the towns people, and he felt guilty for making his own mother cry, which made him cry even harder until he finally cried himself to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud sat, watching a group of kids kick a ball around from his bedroom window. He hated them, hated how they played, hated the way they laughed, as if they didn't have a care in the world. Yet somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt jealous of them. They didn't feel the anger like he did, the loneliness. They weren't blamed for anything, unlike him. He clenched his fist, fighting the tears that began to swell in his eyes.

"Cloud?" he heard her voice through his door as she knocked. "Cloud, are you in there?"

He turned around to answer. "Yeah, mom."

"Cloud, why are you in here?" she asked as she entered. "It's a nice day outside today. Shouldn't you be out playing?"

Cloud gave her a disapproving look, then turned back to face the window.

"Cloud, honey, I know that it isn't easy getting along with the other kids, but you have to at least try."

Cloud shook his head. "What's the point? They all hate me."

"They don't hate you, dear," she said, trying to comfort him. "They just don't understand, that's all."

"It's not just the other kids, mom. Everybody hates me. Even Mr. Rosch. He said I was nothing but trouble. Remember?"

Cloud gripped tightly onto the mattress of his bed, clinching his teeth in anger and holding back his tears.

"I don't care that they hate me, though," he continued. "I don't need to play with the kids, or speak to the other townsfolk. They all hate me, and I hate them."

She sat on the bed beside Cloud, staring outside the window. "Do you remember what I told you?" she asked him.

"About what?" Cloud asked.

She looked at him and smiled. "About love."

Cloud glanced at her with widened eyes.

"No matter how much hate there is, learn to smile and learn to love," she continued. "I know it's hard, Cloud, but if you open up your heart, if you learn to love, then you will learn how to deal with hate."

Cloud gave her a lost look. "How do you do that? Love, I mean."

"Well," she started. "It kinda like a gift. If there is someone precious to you, you do something for them or give something to them to show them how much they mean to you. Like how you showed that Tifa girl how strong you are."

Cloud blushed at the mention of her name, looking away in embarrassment. The blonde woman chuckled at his reaction. "Or like how I made stew for you the other night, or like how I covered your wound. Or like how I said to you that I'll be here for you no matter what. That's a few ways of how to love."

Cloud cracked a smile. He tried to wipe his tears away, but couldn't hold it in. She then pulled Cloud into her arms, embracing him.

"This world will break even the strongest person. The only way we will make it is to let love in. Just know that no matter what, I'm still your mother, and I still love you."

She pecked him on the cheek before leaving his room, leaving Cloud even more confused about his mother's words of 'love'.

"Will it make me stronger?" Cloud asked himself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Cloud? Cloud!"

Cloud was in his room when he heard his mom calling for him from downstairs. He wanted to be left alone, and hearing her shout made him roll his eyes.

"What?" he called.

"Cloud, get down here right now!" she demanded.

Her tone agitated Cloud. "Why?"

"I said _now!_ "

Cloud groaned heavily as he slugged his way downstairs into the kitchen.

"What?" he asked as he approached her, glaring at her with a disapproving look.

"Cloud, look what you did there!" she pointed.

Cloud looked and saw dirty shoe prints that came from outside, shoe prints that were his.

"You need to clean up after yourself after you come from outside, young man," she scolded.

"Hey, I didn't know I did that," Cloud tried to explain. "Besides, I'll clean it later."

"Cloud, you need to be more responsible," she stated. "You're not just putting up a bad attitude, but you're being lazy, too."

Cloud finally lost his temper. "I'm not lazy! Quit yelling at me!"

She crossed her arms, glaring at the young blonde. "I'm not yelling at you. I wouldn't even have to tell you this if you took more responsibility, young man."

"Mom, why are you making such a big deal out of it?!" Cloud yelled.

"It wouldn't be such a big deal if you would just do what you're supposed to do. You can't expect me to do everything for you."

"Just shut up!" Cloud yelled as he stormed away from the kitchen. However, she refused to let him go.

"Cloud!" she called for him. "Get back here right now, young man!"

"No! Why should I?!" he yelled, running upstairs back into his room. But she wasn't going to give up easily and followed him.

"Because if you don't come back here and clean up your mess, you're going to be in big trouble."

"Leave me alone!"

Before Cloud could enter his room, she grabbed a hold on his hand, forcefully pulling him back.

"Let me go!" he yelled, but she was determined.

"Not until you listen to me! You go back downstairs and clean up your mess!"

Cloud refused as he tried to free himself from her grip but he felt himself being overpowered. The rage inside of him began to build up. Instinct kicked in, like it always had, like how the other kids would fight with him. Without hesitation, he lifted his right leg and kicked her with such force that she released him and fell.

"Don't touch me!" Cloud shouted as he ran past her. "I'm not coming back again! Ever!"

With that, he ran downstairs and out the door, fighting back the tears that swelled in his eyes. He continued to run until he reached the edge of Nibelheim, right outside the old Shinra Mansion, its majestic architecture still standing after so long. Out of breath, Cloud leaned against the rusty gates, reflecting on all that had happened moments ago. It was then he realized what he had just done and cursed himself. He was always upset at someone, always angry about something, but he had never meant to hurt his own mother. There was no way he could face her now.

"I'm so stupid," Cloud sobbed as he fell to his knees.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had followed him, hiding near the end of the gate. It took him a while to notice a young girl with long brown hair and deep brown eyes staring at him, who he recognized instantly.

"Tifa!" a voice distracted Cloud as he turned to see two boys rushing to her.

"What are you doing? We're supposed to go play tag today," said the boys.

"He looked upset," Tifa pointed to Cloud. "Who is that kid?"

"Our parents said not to go near him," one of the boys said. "C'mon, let's go before we get in trouble."

"O-okay," Tifa sadly agreed and walked away, not looking back to the young blonde boy.

Cloud was relieved to see Tifa had fully recovered from her accident. Yet, his anger was still there. He was shocked that she still didn't know who he was, even after everything that had happened. He was angry at himself for not being able to help Tifa at that time, wishing that he could be stronger. He could only sit against the gates of the old mansion, watching the town from atop the hill, pondering on what he could do to make himself known, to make himself stronger. His thoughts then came on his mom's words, how she explained 'love'.

Would that make me stronger, he thought to himself.

He pondered on it for a long time until the sun finally set and it was dark. As Cloud headed home, he wondered what his mom would do to punish him. He couldn't face her, but he knew he couldn't ignore her forever. After much hesitation, he entered the front door of his house and into the living and he saw her on the couch, sound asleep. He noticed that she had an ice packet on her leg where he had kicked her, the area around it swelled and purple. Though she was asleep, Cloud could see the pain on her face. He felt even more guilty for what he had done.

She then stirred, slowing opening her eyes to see Cloud standing in the door way.

"Cloud?" she called to him, standing up instantly. He could see her face wince with pain as she wobbled to him.

"Mom," he mumbled, looking at the floor. "I…"

Before he could say a word, she embraced him in a tight hug. He felt her teardrops on his head.

"Don't run off like that again, Cloud," she cried.

He was expecting to be punished, but was shocked to see her relieved instead of angry. He didn't know what to think or how to react. To see her overcome with such emotion made his eyes swell.

"I'm sorry, mom," Cloud cried as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry for kicking you."

"Shh, don't worry about that," she whispered gently. Neither of them spoke for a long time as mother and son stood in the doorway and embraced each other.


	5. Chapter 5

The loud knocking on his door interrupted Cloud's sleep.

"Cloud, get up," his mother called him, to which Cloud grunted and pulled the sheets over him.

"Cloud, I know you can hear me," she continued, much to Cloud's annoyance.

The constant knocking and pestering finally forced him up.

"What?" grumbled Cloud, still half asleep. As he opened the door, he wasn't even aware of the large, luscious breakfast platter that she held in front of him, which immediately awoken him.

"Surprise!" she announced. "I know you like eating in your room, so I figured since today is your birthday, I would allow you to eat in there. Just this once."

Cloud had completely forgotten about today. Today was August 11th, which would make him 10 years old. Something tugged at him in the back of his mind, however. Though he was happy, he still felt sadness inside of him. I should be happy, he thought to himself. I'm older now, which means I should be stronger and more mature now. So why don't I feel happy?

"Cloud, hun?" his mother's words interrupted his thought. "You okay?"

He nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you for the breakfast."

Cloud sat in bed with the platter on his lap, eating heartily as his mother watched in content.

"You know, I figured since today you turned 10, I thought I'd give you something very special," she said.

He gave her a confused look as he chewed his food. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she started. "You always told me about how you'd like to travel someday. And you always told me you like to 'go as fast as the wind'. Remember?"

He nodded, but still confused.

"So, yesterday while you were gone from the house, I went to the market to buy you your birthday breakfast when I stumbled upon a little gem. I knew instantly that you would love it, so I bought something else for you as well."

Cloud's blue eyes widened. "What? What is it? Tell me!"

"Ah ah," she stopped him. "After you get done eating first."

"But mom!" groaned Cloud.

"I said _after_."

Cloud groaned again, but after realizing he could not win against her, he ate fast, devouring the entire platter before leaping out of bed.

"And wash up after yourself."

Afterwards, Cloud raced downstairs, looking around the room frantically for what his mom had bought for him.

"Where is it?" asked Cloud.

"Just a minute, young man," she told him. "It's a surprise. You're going to have to close your eyes first."

Cloud groaned again. "But _mom_."

She only shook her head. "No buts. Now be a good boy and close your eyes."

He sighed heavily, but conceded and squeezed his eyes shut. He heard her walking towards the backdoor and figured he could sneak a peek by carefully opening one eye. But she knew her son better than that.

"And keep them closed," she told him, and he quickly did so.

After a moment, he heard her return with something heavy in tow.

"Can I open them now?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

Cloud opened his eyes and felt the blood rush in his veins. His eyes widened and his mouth agape. In front of him was his mom holding a small bike, its metallic finish having a wolf-like design.

"Happy birthday, Cloud," she said, smiling.

Cloud rushed over to the bike, demanding to ride it at once. "I wanna ride it! Let me ride it! Mom, I can't believe you got this! This is the best birthday gift ever!"

"Okay, okay! You can go take it outside," she laughed.

He took his new present out the front door and immediately sped into the street while his mother watched.

Look at that, she thought to herself, feeling a tear well up in her eye. That's the happiest I've seen him in a long time.

Cloud had spent the rest of the day with his new bike, returning home with an empty stomach and a smile on his face. He sat with his mother at the dinner table, eating her stew as he explained his newfound adventures with his bike.

"I rode through the market so fast that everyone there thought I was a ghost or something! I'll bet the other kids never got something as cool as my bike! I even rode all the way to the hills outside of town! The view was so amazing! I bet I ride so fast, I could get there and back in 10 whole minutes!"

"Oh my, sounds like you had an adventure!" She complimented.

Cloud continued his rant. "I bet with my bike, I could be a delivery boy! Or a professional racer! You think I could be a racer, mom?"

"I think you can, but I wouldn't allow it," she laughed. "I'd prefer you be the delivery boy."

Cloud frowned at the thought. "Okay, but I don't think being a delivery boy would be exciting though."

"But being a delivery boy means you get to travel to places. Places far and wide. You said you'd like to travel, didn't you?"

He nodded. "That's right."

He continued eating his stew when he asked her another question.

"Do you think Tifa would like me now?"

The question caught her off guard. "What?"

"I mean, do you think she would like me because I can go anywhere now?"

She honestly didn't know how to answer. She never thought that after all this time, he would still think about the young girl next door. She figured he still thought about her accident.

"I'm sure she would," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

A look of discomfort came across him. "I just don't want her to hate me, that's all."

His response caught her by surprise. "Cloud, hun, you really think she hates you for the accident?"

"Well, everyone else does, so I figure she would, too."

She sighed. "We've had this conversation before. Stop thinking about what everyone might think about you. None of it is true. Be happy, okay?"

Cloud wanted to argue but held his words back and simply nodded.

"Good," she said, smiling. "And she doesn't hate you, Cloud."

He smiled back, but quickly shifted back to his sad tone.

"Can I ask you another question?" asked Cloud.

"Certainly," she answered.

Cloud hesitated, deciding if he really wanted to ask her. He felt his stomach tighten as he gathered his thoughts, but he had to know. It was a question that had stuck with him for a long time and he had to know.

"How come dad's never around?"

She dropped her spoon, losing her strength to grip it and nearly fainted, feeling her soul escape from her body.

"Mom?" Cloud asked. He could only watch as he saw his mom grow pale, seeing the blue in her eyes turn white, as if something had possessed her. "What's wrong?"

"Cloud, I already told you long ago," she told him, finally finding the courage to speak. "He's gone. Don't speak about him again."

"But, mom-"

"I said don't speak about him!" she yelled, slamming her fist on the table and accidentally knocking over the pot of stew in front of them.

She realized what she had done and felt shame overcome her.

"I- I'm sorry," she stammered as she stood up. "I'll clean it up. You just go to your room."

Cloud was gripped with fear. He was unable to move. It was not the first time he had seen his mom act this way, however. He remembered long ago asking her the same question and she reacted nearly the same way. She was not her usual self when he asked her. He swore then that he would never ask her again. Perhaps because he felt he was old enough or because of his new present and his restored pride that he decided to bring up the question again. He pondered for a long time about what had happened to him, and she would never give him a clear answer. He knew he couldn't be dead, that was certain, otherwise the other villagers and his own mom would say so. He didn't understand why she acted like this whenever he talked about him.

"Cloud, go," she told him.

Not wanting to question her, he finally stood up and slowly left the kitchen. He then stopped in the doorway and turned to her, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he quietly sobbed.

She didn't answer, only focusing on cleaning the spilled stew on the floor and table.

Her silence made him feel even more shameful. He didn't go upstairs to his room like she told him to, instead heading outside, hopping on his new bike and riding into the streets covered by the night. It bothered him that his mother didn't even try to stop him from going outside, and he knew that he had made her feel this way and blamed himself even more. He rode towards the old Shinra Mansion and sat by himself, staring at the night sky riddled with stars, pondering on many things well into the morning, his eyes red with tears and his heart full of guilt and shame.


End file.
